Michael Schumacher now stands alone at the top of Formula One racing. The German made history on Sunday when he became the first man to win six world titles.

Schumacher makes history

But Schumacher, who finished eighth in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix, admitted it had been one of his toughest races ever.

Schumacher's placing was enough to guarantee him the title, his fourth in a row, as he ended the season just two points ahead of McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen.

Raikkonen, who finished second on Sunday, needed a win and for Schumacher to finish out of the points to take the title. But the Finn couldn't get past Schumacher's Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who won the race to ensure the German again claimed the crown.

Australian Mark Webber, driving for Jaguar, finished in 11th place in Japan and 10th in the world title standings.

"It has been a tough year, a tough late stage of the season and a very tough race, one of my toughest ever," said Schumacher, who has now passed the mark of five world titles he shared with legendary Argentine driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

"But the team and Rubens did a fantastic job.

"The feeling of winning has not sunk in yet. I can feel for the team but not for myself yet.

"I am exhausted and proud of what we have achieved."

In 2002, Schumacher wrapped up the title by the halfway stage of the season – but this time around it was a lot tougher with Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya in the Williams pushing him all the way to the final race of the season.

"Most of my championships have been secured with a win on the track. Today I did it with eighth place, which gives me mixed emotions," he said.

"A fifth constructors' title in a row is a fantastic achievement.

"People wrote us off and said many outspoken things.

"But Ferrari never give up. We are a huge family and we always fight back."

Ferrari technical chief Ross Brawn also admitted it had been a testing afternoon.

"It will take a few hours for this to sink in," Brawn said.

"Rubens did a fantastic job and Michael made it entertaining. It has been a tough year and there were times in the year when we didn't know if we were going to do it. But in the last three races, the guys turned it around."

Barrichello, who added the win to his British Grand Prix victory this season, said he was just happy to have played a part in the Schumacher and Ferrari success story.

"I have helped the team to another constructors' title and to clinch victory here, which is a real driver's circuit, makes me very happy," said the Brazilian.

Raikkonen had to race using teammate David Coulthard's car after crashing his own in practice on Saturday and then qualifying only in eighth place on the grid for the race.

"We were just not good enough to win the title but it wasn't because of bad driving.

"This year we improved and we were more reliable, but maybe not up there with the speed," said the Finn.

Raikkonen, who won his first Grand Prix in Malaysia this year and finished second in six other races before Sunday, looked a chance of pulling off an incredible upset after Schumacher shunted Japanese driver Takuma Sato and damaged the nose of his Ferrari on lap seven.

"Many times people have retired on the last lap but this time it wasn't enough to win the title," Raikkonen said.

"Hopefully next year we will be quicker."

He praised Schumacher, who returned to the track after a pit-stop to repair his car and finished eighth to secure the point that would have given him a sixth title even if the Finn had won the race.

"This year we were just not quick enough to win the title but at least I didn't lose to a bad driver," Raikkonen said.